Melbourne at a Glance
Moving to Melbourne
iStockphotoMelbourne, Australia's second largest city, is a popular destination for many residents from overseas.
Moving to Melbourne, you have decided to live in Australia’s second most populous city. Melbourne is not only the capital of Victoria, Australia’s smallest and most densely populated mainland state (right after the capital territory). The city is also its economic powerhouse.
Melbourne used to be the center of Australia’s “rustbelt”. However, since the 1980s, it has gradually mastered the transition from a focus on manufacturing to a thriving service sector. Lots of jobseekers find employment in the revived urban economy. But expatriates profit from more than the city’s job opportunities.
A move to Melbourne is an attractive option, due to the high quality of living in the metropolitan area. Nicknamed both “Australia’s unofficial cultural capital” and “City of Gardens”, Melbourne boasts a lively arts and entertainment scene, a variety of annual cultural festivals and sports events, and plenty of open green spaces.
Expats moving to Melbourne should note that the Economist Intelligence Unit nominated Melbourne the “world’s most livable city” for foreign assignees in 2011 and 2012.
History and Geography
The history of this much appreciated city begins with a sad fact. In 1835, the first European settlers in the area founded their village on land theft. They squatted on the territory of the Aboriginal Wurundjiri nation, which was gradually decimated due to dispossessment, diseases, and frontier violence. The British settlement, however, prospered, living up to the city’s later motto: vires acquirit eundo – Latin for “she gathers strength as she goes”. With crowds of diggers and miners moving to Melbourne, it soon turned into the “Marvellous Melbourne” of the gold rush years.
Nowadays, Melbourne is a flourishing 21st-century metropolis. About 75% of Victoria’s populace are concentrated in the metropolitan area, rather than the state’s rural regions. Located around Port Philipp Bay and the mouth of the Yarra River, the Melbourne metro area now includes 31 municipalities. It is divided into three areas, according to their distance from the city center: Inner Melbourne, Metropolitan Melbourne, and Outer Melbourne.
Population and Climate
As an expat resident, you will join the ranks of 4.1 million people who live in the metropolitan area today. According to the 2006 census, 31% of all Melbourne residents were born overseas. The Anglo-Celtic (i.e. English-Irish-Scottish) heritage of the first European colonists has long given way to a multicultural society.
In some municipalities, the percentage of foreign-born residents is far higher than the national average of 25%. For example, in the city center of Melbourne, 41% of all inhabitants were born outside Australia, moving to Melbourne from countries as different as Malaysia, China and Hong Kong, the UK, Indonesia, New Zealand, Singapore, India, Vietnam, and Italy.
Unfortunately, the weather in Melbourne is as varied as its population. The oceanic climate results in rather moderate temperatures. The yearly average ranges from 10.2 °C (minimum) to 19.8°C (maximum). However, the weather is also extremely changeable. When you move to Melbourne, you will soon find out why Melbournians joke about “four seasons in one day”. So, make sure to pack your suitcase accordingly before moving to Melbourne.
Join the leading
Expat Community in Melbourne
